


Recluse

by Unicron



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: F/M, Mechpreg, depiction of giving birth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-10 11:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15948716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unicron/pseuds/Unicron
Summary: Optimus learns the hard way that spiderwebs bind even when their spiders are away.





	Recluse

“Well I figured out why you’ve been having issues keeping down your energon,” Ratchet said looking at a diagnostic readout.

“Was it the oilcakes Bulkhead made the other night?” Optimus asked tilting his head towards the readout, “I didn’t want to tell him but those things went down like a ton of bricks.”

“No,” Ratchet said. “You’re carrying.”

“What?” Optimus replied utterly dumbfounded. No way he was carrying, he couldn’t be carrying, he hadn’t interfaced since-“Oh frag.”

“Yes that’s how you get sparked up,” Ratchet replied handing Optimus the readout, “About an orbital cycle now.”

“Oh frag,” Optimus repeated clasping a servo over his chest plates. “I can’t be carrying.”

“I can run the test again but it will come up the same damn way,” Ratchet replied. “Who’s the sire anyways? Prowl?”

Optimus shook his head. No, it would be too damn easy if the carrier was Prowl. Sure he’d still be a single carrier, but then he could carry it with pride and tell the bitlet how wonderful his sire had been.

“Don’t tell me it’s Sentinel,” Ratchet said looking slightly apologetic towards the red mech.

Optimus shook his head again. That would be bad, Optimus did his best to process the fact at least it wasn’t Sentinel and he wouldn’t have to deal with that can of fermium worms.

“Who?” Ratchet asked. “Bumblebee?” A shake of the head. “Bulkhead?” Another shake of the head. “Well it wasn’t me.” Optimus shook his head yet again. “Jazz?” Optimus was wondering how long he could go on like this. “Blurr? One of the jettwins? Come on Optimus we’ve only seen so many Autobots these last few stellar cycles. Let it out!”

“Blackarachnia,” Optimus said looking at the floor.

“So how do you want to do this?” Ratchet replied.

“Um, I need to think about it,” Optimus said looking at his chest. “How long do I have to think about it?”

“About two more orbital cycles,” Ratchet said, “I’ll keep us between us.”

“Thank you,” Optimus said, quickly hightailing it to his room to think.

* * *

Optimus rubbed his chest hesitantly. _Carrying_. He was carrying. There was a little spark in his chest. A little spark that Optimus could feel now he realized it was there. It was little more than a flicker at the moment but when he pushed on it it pushed right on back with surprise and curiosity, feelings that Optimus shared towards it. He had never thought of having a sparkling back when he joined the Autobots, or at least he never thought it could be practical, but now it was happening.

Sometimes when he was still a cadet Optimus would dream about a world where Megatron had been captured and all the Decepticons scattered across the galaxies were captured and when that happened maybe he’d talk to Elita and Sentinel about having a bitlet, but he figured that day would never come. Megatron was captured, so Optimus figured he at least got that right. Elita was the sire so Optimus had to give his cadet self’s fantasies another credit for accuracy. After those two points, however, everything went haywire. He loved Blackarachnia, he loved her since she was Elita and loved her despite her faults, but her being the sire of his bitlet could only cause problems. Blackarachnia was Primus only knows where and wouldn’t be there for him or their bitlet, she was a Decepticon which meant their poor bitlet would have the stigma on that on them, and if that wasn’t enough to worry Optimus the bitlet might take after its sire in their form as well.

If this bitlet was a technorganic he could never bring it to Cybertron. Sentinel would never let a transorganic bitlet have rights on their planet, and pushback against the bitlet would be twice as extreme from the acting Magnus considering its sire. Sentinel would be bitter and jealous too, jealous that Optimus had finally moved on from him and bitter he had moved on with their other partner despite what she had become. Never the less Optimus couldn’t help but want to keep the thing. Optimus had been so much, he had been hated and ignored and pushed aside, and even amongst his own team he could only hope but never fully expect respect.

The bitlet loved him already, he hadn’t even known it existed the past orbital cycle and had only just made contact with it but it was already pushing against his own spark and knew he would protect it and protect it he would. Optimus had failed its sire but he was determined to do right by it. Optimus would make sure Sentinel never hurt it or pushed either it or its carrier around. With that revelation Optimus had two realizations, firstly he wanted to keep the bitlet, and secondly he couldn’t let the bitlet grow up with Cybertron in its current state. Optimus could stay on Earth, honestly he had been debating staying on Earth before this, but that wouldn’t be fair to the bitlet. It deserved more than to hide what it was from the world, it deserved a place on their world, an Optimus was ready to try and make a better Cybertron for it.

* * *

“Strika,” Optimus said with arms crossed over his chest, “You look better than you left Rodimus.”

“Optimus, you look better than Megatron did on the last Autobot propaganda vids.”  The third-in-command of the Decepticons replied.

“I’ll be looking worse soon enough,” Optimus said attempting to smile over the holo-call. “I have information you might like, but I am not going to give it to you until we reach an arrangement.”

“And what could possibly be valuable enough to give information to you?” Strika asked.

Optimus managed to let out a proper smile at last before continuing and saying, “The blueprints to the prison your conjunx is in and the codes to get him out.”  

“You lock up our leader and expect me to accept anything less than him?” Strika asked.

Optimus sighed, “Look I can’t help you break out Megatron just-“he paused and thought for a moment, “Okay Lugnut and the Starscream clone of your choice.”

“Lugnut, Blitzwing, and Slipstream,” Strika said.

“Agreed,” Optimus said with a huff, “I’ll send the coordinates for the ‘cons to pick me up, once I am I’ll give you the information on the jail.”

“And what’s to say you’ll give us the information?” Strika asked.

Optimus sighed, “I’ve seen how the Autobots react to transorganics so I can’t stay with them.”

“You aren’t transorganic,” Strika said plainly.

“Yeah but this one,” Optimus said poking his chest, “Will be.”

“Ah,” Strika said with a nod, “You understand it will be a Decepticon, right? You can’t defect and expect us to provide for you if you don’t accept your family will be Decepticons.”

“Well its sire already is,” Optimus said with a sigh, “I’d prefer she be nothing, I don’t want it fighting before it’s grown.”

“Fine. I’ll send someone to pick you and the information up,” Strika said turning the comm off. _Okay_. Optimus rubbed his chest, it would be okay.  

* * *

The Decepticon shuttle was ridiculously small considering how large its pilot was. When Strika stepped out she had to duck her head to keep from banging it against the doorway and Optimus might have laughed if he wasn’t alone with the massive femme.

“Passcodes Autobot,” the third in command- _second in command now_ -Optimus corrected himself, of the Deceptions said as she strode to the end of the ship’s ramp.

Optimus handed a datapad over. “And for full disclaimer this one,” Optimus said raising a comm, “Goes to my team, but it doesn’t transmit location.”

“And what’s to say you won’t tell them?” Strika asked.

“They worry about me,” Optimus said plainly. “Trust me, I can either let them know I’m okay of they’ll search for me location or no location.”

“Fair enough,” Strika said standing aside to let Optimus onto the ship. “Most Autobots aren’t as loyal.”

“How would you know?” Optimus said. He frowned at Strika and stepped onto the transport.

“You’re abandoning your faction because a former teammate wouldn’t accept your sparkling, that tells me all I need to know.” Strika began to check the codes and plugged them into the ship.

“He, he is a piece of work,” Optimus said rubbing his chest, “But it was my fault. If I had stood up to him then none of this would have happened.”

Strika shook her head, “You’re carrying her sparkling, clearly one of you were able to move on. The fact that person wasn’t Sentinel is his fault, not your fault.”

“Have you heard anything from her yet?” Optimus asked hopefully as he took a seat.

“Not yet, but we’ll send search drones once our attention isn’t focused on getting Lord Megatron back.” Strika glanced at Optimus, “Which could be a whole lot sooner if you give us more codes.”

“I’ll wait,” Optimus said plainly. “Lets just get your conjunx and his amica and get back to your base.”

* * *

Optimus couldn’t do this. Sure he thought he could, sure he had left everything he ever worked towards for this, but as another surge of pain wracked his frame Optimus knew he couldn’t possibly be cut out for this. If he could do this it would have been back with his team and he would have defected after the emergence, but as is he was in a strange medbay doing his best not to hold back tears. “I wanna go home,” Optimus gasped between contractions.

“I can get you on a gurney if you want to go back to your habsuite,” Flatline replied, “But the emergence won’t be any different here or there.”

“I know,” Optimus said as his face contorted in pain as he fumbled through his subspace to reach his comm. “Someone hold that for me,” he said thrusting in to the closest mech near him, “My team is on speed dial. I need them.”

The nurse opened the comm and dialed, and Optimus smiled through his pain when he heard the chatter of his friends when the call went live.

 “Hey boss bot,” Bumblebee said.

“Optimus!” Bulkhead exclaimed.

“Kid,” Ratchet said.

“Is Sari there?” Optimus asked ignoring Flatline for a moment on the order of ‘push’.

“No,” Bulkhead replied.

“Thank Primus,” Optimus said. He pushed with a grimace, “She does not need to see this.”

“But you decided we have to see it,” Bumblebee grumbled.

“Push again,” Flatline said.

Optimus did as he was told before replying. “No, you don’t have to see this. Turn it on audio if you want, just talk. Anything new?”

“I made a new painting,” Bulkhead said. He left the frame of the comm for a moment before returning with a particularly bizarre painting.

“I like it,” Optimus said. He hoped any lack of sincerity in his tone was attributed to the emergence.

“Good, because I’m having Strika bring it back to you next time we meet up!” Bulkhead said with a grin. “I made it for the sparkling.”

“I’m sure she’ll love it,” Optimus said doing his best to grin in return. “I think her sire would be proud. This bitlet is causing me more pain than Blackarachnia ever managed.”

That one managed to get a chuckle out of Flatline. Optimus felt digits checking his progress before being told, “She’s cresting.”

“So it’s almost done,” Optimus replied. “That’s good. So how is Sari doing? You aren’t letting her stay up late just because I’m not there, right?”

Bumblebee nodded, “I mean minus one time but that wasn’t my fault. How was I suppose to realize the movie she put on was three hours long?”

“You check the time before you let her put it on close to bed,” Optimus replied before letting out a yell.

“The helm is out,” Flatline said. “Now the next hard part is getting the shoulders out, but once that’s done it is nice and easy.”

“Bulk, Bee,” Optimus said, “Let this remind you why we always use protection.”

“You say that Boss Bot but the only one of us who forgot is you,” Bumblebee said with a grin.

Damn Bumblebee for being right about that. “Yes, but if you ever run into your ex and get excited remember there,” Optimus paused and groaned as he pushed at Flatline’s continued prompting, “is always time to use it.”

“Your experiences aren’t universal,” Bumblebee said and Optimus couldn’t help but laugh as he pushed yet again and could finally feel his bitlet’s shoulders free themselves.

“Okay, I’m done.” Optimus grinned, “I’ll call you guys back later. Thanks for the distraction.”

“Anytime,” Bulkhead said before cutting the comm.

“Here she is,” Flatline said handing the femme to Optimus. The energon and emergence fluid hadn’t completely been cleaned off of the sparkling yet but Optimus could already tell she shared his bright red plating. She also clearly had eight eyes and legs like her sire, but Optimus would have to wait to see if those eyes were red like hers as well. That didn’t matter though, his bitlet was perfect.

* * *

Optimus awoke from recharge and glanced over at his daughter’s crib. “You let me sleep through the night.” Optimus rolled out of his berth to get to her, “Well its time for breakfast then.” He was so proud of Recluse for sleeping through the night. He hadn’t expected that yet. He also hadn’t expected her to be out of her crib.

“Frag.” Optimus ran to the ship terminal in his room to check if anyone had entered his room last night. No one had. Optimus tried to vent but could hardly manage. His daughter was gone, “Strika-“, he commed, “Recluse is missing. I went to her crib and Clue was just gone.” He heard a giggle coming from above at the sound of his daughter’s nickname. “Nevermind.”

Recluse was on the ceiling, bundled happily in webbing and babbling now she realized her carrier was up. “Well you gotta get down here if you want to eat,” Optimus said holding his arms up in hopes of enticing his daughter down. “Please don’t make me use my jetpack.” Never the less Recluse didn’t budge.

Optimus opened his chest plating with a sigh, “See, breakfast time, but you gotta get down here to get it.” That seemed to work and Recluse lowered herself down with webbing until Optimus could snatch her and put her to his chest. That would take getting used to, but he could get used to anything for the sake of his daughter.


End file.
